The Woes of an Ice Bori
by Taelia
Summary: Poor Rebekkana is stuck holding down her family. Can she find a way to help her and her family? Please Read&Review.
1. Intro

A Tenna cried in the arms of a Ice Bori."Aw... this petpet don't like me either!" Rebekkana cried. "No, no, hon, it's just that you must remind them of they're old owner!" her mother told her young child. _The poor child_, her mother thought,_ not a single petpet has liked her. I'm glad she bought my lie; she doesn't need to know she gives pets frostbite. We've seen all of them from Avabot to Zebba. Wait a minute there's one thing we haven't tried!_ "Shopkeeper, do you have any wintery petpets?"

"Here you go, ma'am." the cheery shopkeeper said as she handed Rebekkana an Abominable Snowball. Rebekkana turned to see her owner. Her mood surprisingly stayed the same. "Oh mom, he probably won't like me either," Rebekkana sobbed again. "No, this one will like you," assured the mother.

Rebekkana slowly picked up the snowball. The white petpet didn't seem to dislike her; in fact the petpet giggled. They stared into each other's eyes and it was clear that it was love a first sight. "Oh my gosh, mom we have to get him! Oh my, I don't think I could like live without him mom! I'll name him Jeff. No, Bob. Jeffabob! Please, please, please?"

"Ok hon, if this is the one you want, this is the one you'll get," mother promised her child, "Now you go play with Jeffabob while I pay the nice shopkeeper." She turned to the shopkeeper. "How much will that cost?" The shopkeep smiled. "Seeing the look on her face reminded be of when I met my first petpet. His name was Ernie, he was a Psymouse. We had some good times together. But he died years ago. I couldn't charge you darling! It's on the house, no cost." Rebekkana, overhearing the conversation, smiled harder than she had all day. "Thank you soooo much!"


	2. The Problem

With her petpet in tow, Rebekkana stumbled out of her bedroom. It was the first weekend she had been able to sleep late in over a month, but 11:00 A.M was late enough for her. Suddenly, her stomach growled something fierce. She made her way to the kitchen for some brunch from her mother.

"Hi hon! How was your night? There's some melon in the fridge if you are hungry," her mom happily greeted her youngest daughter. After filling a bowl with Scabu, Rebekkana sat down and ate. As her mind wandered in the world of the half-asleep, her eyes also wandered til they rested on a brochure that said "**_Visit Terror Mountain TODAY!_**".

"Oh mom! Are we going to Terror Mountain AGAIN? Can we go to Tyrannia this vacation? Please?" asked Rebekkana , "We've gone to Terror Mountain as long as I can remember. I know you love it there, but, well, it was time for a change."

"No hon, I've told you a million times, we are going to Terror Mountain and that's it!" her mother explained from her position at the kitchen sink of her neohome, doing dishes. "But mom," Rebekkana whined, "I don't like going there and neither does Antarala, Ionabel, or Lihimal!" She spoke of her three sisters. "Did someone say my name?" asked her Shoyru sister Lihimal. "Go play with your sisters in the play room, Rebekkana.". The Bori grudgingly agreed and walked off with her sister.

On the way to the play room, Rebekkana told her older sister what had happened. "Why do you think she makes us go there every year?" she asked. "Isn't it obvious?!?" Lihimal replied as she opened the door to the play room.

The room was a shinny metallic color and to most people, it was cold. Rebekkana's family all had to wear a coat when the were down there, but to Rebekkana, it was perfect. She often retreated to this room when she felt weak, a sure sign her ice body was melting. The only other room that was this cold was her bedroom. "Well, I don't think it's so obvious!" yelled Rebekkana out of frustration.

"Calm down, Bekka! It's just that, well, if we went anywhere else, you'd melt!" The conversation piqued the interest of her sisters. While only Antarala, a blue Zafara, came over to them, it was clear that Ionabel the Kougra was trying to act her part as the oldest and just listened in from behind her book. "What'cha guys talking about?" asked Antarala. Rebekkana let Lihimal field that question and took of running, and crying, to the far corner of the room.

Finally, Ionabel stirred from behind her book to sit with Rebekkana. "Oh Bekky, it okay! We love you more than we hate Terror Mountain! Don't cry. I'm sure someday you'll be able to go to someplace _not _freezing cold."

No matter the tone of her voice, or her message, the blue Kougra's words made her Bori sibling sad. She didn't know there was every not a possibility of her ever going anywhere. _How come mom never explained that to me? I would have rather stayed home and let them go have a wonderful vacation than subject them (and me) to the same, boring vacation every year! _thought Rebekkana as she walked the thin line between self-  
pity and martyrdom. She had to go talk to her mother.

Rebekkana snook up on her unsuspecting mother, was watching the tv, formulating her ideas as she walked. "Mom, I don't want to be ice anymore!" Her voice ringing through the room. Mom twirled around and paused her movie she was watching. "I can't go **anywhere**, or else I'll melt! That's why we go to Terror Mountain every year, isn't it?"

"Who told you that?" Without even stopping to respond to her mother, Rebekkana continued, "I don't care what color I become as long as I don't stay _ice_." She said 'ice' with so much malice, it could kill a Lupe from twenty miles away. "Honey, I would gladly change your color if I could, but I don't have a map to the lab ray..." before she could finish, Rebekkana interrupted her, "What about that paintbrush you won from the Wheel of Monotony?" Her mother sighed.. "Honey, I sold that to pay for Battledome equipment and avatar items. What was left I put towards a lab map. We only need 100,000 nps more!" Rebekka scoffed, "**Only** 100,000 left. It will take you a year or better to earn that!"_There has to be a way,_ she thought.

That night was a rough one. No matter what she did, Rebekkana couldn't sleep. She was attempting to solve her predicament regarding her color. Finally, she drifted to sleep, only to be confronted with a dream.

She was prancing on many clouds hovering above Neopia. It was nice but she knew she couldn't stay for long or she'd melt. Suddenly her foot slid through the cloud, followed by her whole body. At first she panicked, but then she realized, she'd land in Happy Valley among soft snow. Watching the snow, she noticed that there was a tiny black and red dot in the snow. This dot slowly morphed into a Shoyru. She was about to land on this Fire Shoyru! As they finally collided, Rebekkana felt herself melt. This finally stirred her from sleeping with a jolt.

Popping out of her bed, she searched for the source of the all too real pain from her dream. She easily found it; her sister Antarala standing over her with a high power flashlight.

"What are you DOING?!?" whispered Rebekkana angrily. "I need to talk to you. Its about you getting to be a different color."


	3. The Job

Rebekkana and Antarala slowly made their way down to the playroom. The playroom would be the safest in regards to not waking the rest of their family. Rebekkana tried hard to hold all questions of why they **had** to talk this late at night, or perhaps what she knew that it was that important to talk about, but if the playroom had been even 10 feet further away, she might not have been able to hold her anticipation.

Opening their destination's door revealed a surprise to both. Sitting kitty-corner to the bookcase was Ionabel, her kougra paws wrapped around the sides of Hidden Tower Secrets. Slamming the book shut, she first was shocked then appeared relieved. "Oh thank Fyora, its only you! I thought I'd have to explain being up this late to mom," sighed Ionabel, "So why are you two down here?" Rebekkana looked at Ionabel and then at Antarala, "I'd like to know myself."

"Look Bekka, I heard mom tell you about how we only have 100,000 neopoints left til we get to the lab ray. So, I went on the Faerieland Employment Agency website and found you a job." Rebekkana got red in the face. "You have to be kidding me! A**_ job!!!_** I can hardly leave this _house!_ How am I supposed to hold down a job?!?" Rebekkana truly had no concern for how loud her voice was. She was just marveling at how stupid Antarala seemed.

"Honestly, Rebekkana, do you think I am _that_ stupid? The job is at Terror Mountain, coincidentally when we are there. All you have to do is sneak out for two days and earn yourself a cool 100,000 neopoints." Rebekkana was still suspicious. "What exactly is in the job description?"

"Well that's where things get a little questionable. The actual job is...scientific experimentation. They have this new potion of some sort. They want to try it on a neopet." At this Ionabel spoke up. "That's **ridiculous**! That 'new potion' could very well _kill_ our little sister," she spoke to Antarala. "It's okay," said Rebekkana in an unusually calm voice, "I'm willing to take a risk or two."

"A **_risk or two!!!_** You could die!!"

"I could also just begin to live."

"Its not worth risking your life to change your color!"

"Until you live the way I've lived, you can't tell me what is worth it and what's not!"

"Well obviously you need someone to tell you or else your going to kill yourself!"

"How do you even know this will kill me?"

"How do you know it won't? What would mom say about this?"

"Mom won't say anything 'cause she's not going to know!" Ionabel and Rebekkana yelled back and forth. They were glad the playroom was soundproof or else they would wake up the whole house. "What do you mean 'She won't know'. Of course she'll know! If I have to, I'll tell her!"

"You wouldn't tell her anything. I'm the one who knows you stole 25,000 neopoints from the bank to buy more _books_!" Ionabel looked dumbfounded. "I never did anything of the sort!" she said. "No, but she'd believe you did." "Ok, I won't tell her anything. But don't you think that she will realize your sneaking out?" Rebekkana looked smug. "Yah well I'll tell her I'm going to play Cliffhanger or something."

"Its obvious I won't be able to change your mind. I'm going to bed. I suggest you two do also."

The next day was a boring day, a day of packing for the next days trip. Rebekkana, yesterday so firm in her resolve, was starting to question this "job" that would start the second day her family were on Terror Mountain. Never the less, she was going to go though with it. The day after that was filled with traveling. They took a flight from Neopia Central to Tyrannia, then took a slow train trolley to the summit of Terror Mountain. They had taken this same trip so many times, it was nothing new to them, but now they knew this could very well be the last year they would have to go _here _for vacation.

After five and a half hours, they finally stopped traveling and unpacked in a small Neolodge room in Terror Mountain. The family relaxed, napped and consumed of the mini bar, all while Rebekkana worried about her future. Around eleven o'clock, she fell into an unfit sleep.

That following morning, Rebekkana woke with paralyzing doubt of what was to come that day. Under the door to their cabin laid a note and a map. The note read:

_Rebekkana,_

_Be at the place marked on the map by 10:30 am. Bring no-one with you._

_-Your Employer_

"Well that's cryptic..." said a voice behind her. She turned around to be faced by her one supporter in this job pursuit, Antarala, "You know, maybe this isn't such a good idea. This person could be dangerous."

"Now you don't think its such a good idea either! Well, you guys don't phase me. Tell mom I went to play Cliffhanger. I'll be back for dinner." After saying this, Rebekkana stormed out of the room.

It took her barely a half hour to find the small laboratory shown on the map. Nervously, she knocked on the door. A deep voice from outside said, "Come in.. come in." As she stepped into the lab, she felt her future change forever.


	4. The Scientist

The lab she walked into was dark, small and cluttered. From what she could see of the walls, they were painted grey. A scientist hunched over his work bench, probably putting the final touches on what she was to test. He turned around to talk."So this is how its going to work, Rebekkana," said the scientist, "Once the other guinea pi... I mean employee... gets here, I will have you sit right in those seats over there," He pointed to some cold, metallic chairs with straps hanging off of it in the corner. "For your safety, I will strap you two in your seats. Then I will pour a little bit of this potion on you. After that you're free to go, just as long as you come back tomorrow for a short bit of observation." Rebekkana decided this odd scientist (who looked like a combo of a Kougra and a Scorchio) wasn't all that bad. He actually seemed pretty nice. He definitely soothed her worries.

All of a sudden, a starry Lenny burst in the laboratory, looking rushed. She was suited in a half a billion pounds of snow clothes."Sorry I'm like, sooo late. It's a hard trip here, and like, I underestimated it! What I miss?" She whipped off the snow clothes and threw it on his chair. The scientist scowled. "No, Maedanon, you didn't miss _anything _. Just go sit down on one of those chairs so we may get started."

As the scientist mixed the last of the vile smelling concoction, Maedanon and Rebekkana talked. "My name's Rebekkana. Why are **you** here? With a starry pelt like that I'd think you wouldn't need the money!" Maedanon explained, "My mom made me. Seems we're 'a little strapped for cash' lately. How's about you?" "I actually am here without my mom's permission. She'd kill me if she knew I was doing this. But she'll thank me once I add enough money to earn us passage to the lab ray, and I can get a different, hopefully opaque, color and I won't be tied to cold any longer. Being ice really sucks." said Rebekkana. "I can imagine!" agreed Maedanon. "Time for the test!" said the scientist in a sing song voice as he carried over his mixture.

Maedanon volunteered to go first. "Might as well get it over with!" was her reasoning. As her friend was strapped in, Rebekkana pushed her worried thoughts out of her head. Good or bad, she was there now. The scientist slowly poured an asparagus colored goo on her. Her face looked pained for a minute, then it turned to shivers just as quickly. "This is damn cold!" said the Lenny, a curse the only accurate superlative, "Its not that bad after you get used to it though! Feels a lot like a cold shower!" The scientist smiled."Good. . . good. Rebekkana, its your turn." She quivered, half of anticipation and half of fright. As the bonds that would hold her got tighter she felt herself distancing from her body, as she was on the path to changing it. The goo was poured between her eyes, causing her to cross her eyes towatch it drip. Slowly, one. . . two. . .three drops wer poured on her head. Pain shot through her body for a split second, followed by a little bit of a chill. _Weird_, she thought,_ I never am cold! Its unnatural! __I'm ice!_ "Ok kids, we're done! Go frolick back to your homes. Come back tomorrow to be observed. Same time, same place! Adios, aloha, guten tag, ciao!" the scientist unstrapped both of them and they peacefully left.

"I'm going to follow your path, ok? We're right near each other, our places are, and it is painfully difficult for me to forge through the snow," said Maedanon. After agreeing, they headed out. The two talked about everything and anything, from what their parents were like to what their favorite type of faerie was. "I personally like fire faeries, beca..." Rebekkana twirled around to see what was the matter, for her friend had stopped talking. What she saw disturbed her more than anything she could have imagined.

Maedanon looked mangled and tortured. Her feathers looked as if they were plucked out one by one. Her head laid on the snow at a horrid angle, and her legs were tangled like two vines after being neglected for a long time. Her beak was a puke green, and her eyes were blood red. Rebekkana held back panic and carried her friend as far as she could. She couldn't have gotten but fifty feet when she collapsed. Her front legs twisted in odd angles and her body took a translucent puke green color. Her pain was like no other pain she had ever felt before. She crawled slowly, painfully another ten feet and fell unconscious. The pain didn't stop when she was unconscious, it just intensified. She was desperate. Sliding in and out of consciousness she tried to cut her throat with her claw but she couldn't move. _Why won't the pain stop!?!_ she tried to yell unsuccessfully. It was total agony. When she thought she couldn't take any more, the pain mysteriously ceased. She let herself slip from consciousness for as long as she could.

When she woke, she was in the arms of Taelia, the snow faerie.


	5. The Getting Better

_Author's Note: As of 1/19/05, Both Ionabel and Lihimal (who are in fact my pets)have been painted. I won't however say this in the story though because it messes up my story._

Her body still bent in contortion, Taelia laid her on a bed in her cozy home. For an unknown reason, her pain had gone. She wasn't complaining, far from it! But she didn't seem to be able to feel anything, and that definitely worried her. She gathered her strength and looked around the room.

There were no less than five beds in the octagonal room. One held a yellow bruce, one held Maedanon and one held her own weak body. It seemed as if only Rebekkana was awake, until the yellow bruce asked, "What are you two's names, and why the hell are you that messed up," in a weary voice.

Rebekkana worked up all her energy and said, "I'm Rebekkana, she's Maedanon, weird scientist's experiment."

"Judy. I got neggititus and neomonia."

"Glad you two met!" said someone from out of Rebekkana's line of sight. As she strained to see, Taelia walked towards Maedanon. "Well I'm glad I now know a little about you two now. All I knew was that you poor kids were laying in the snow, unconscious. So Rebekkana, what made you two like this, hon?" She tried to remember, but was met with much pain. Finally, through the pain she remembered. The scientist!

Taelia, sensing Rebekkana's pain, ran and fetched a bottle of potion. "Drink this. It's pain reliever." She quickly consumed the bottle and felt better almost immediately.

"There is this scientist dude down the mountain a bit. He's paying us... 100,000 neopoints to test this new potion. Wait! What time is it?" asked Rebekkana in a frightened tone.

"Nine-fifty, why?"

"Taelia, we have to be at that scientists place in ten minutes!" Taelia looked skeptical.

"Rebekkana! He was the one who did this to you two in the first place! You want to go **_back_** there?!?"

"He might be the only one who can reverse this! Please?" The snow faerie looked convinced. "Fine! Judy, you just stay in bed ok?" Judy looked up, "Ok Taelia."

"Rebekkana, you get Maedanon and yourself on this sled," said the snow faerie as she pulled a red toboggan from a overstuffed closet adjacent from the room the sick stayed in. "I'll pull you two." Rebekkana looked skeptical. "Taelia, we must weigh 85 pounds together!"

"Do you forget? I'm a faerie."

A half an hour later, with Taelia the Snow Faerie magically pulling the loaded down sled, they arrived outside the scientist's lair. Taelia pounded on the heavy steal door. "Open up!!" The scientist, mutant looking as ever, came to the door and smiled evilly. "Ah. . . I see the children have come back to retrieve their pay! Come in!" Taelia lifted Maedanon from the toboggan as Rebekkana stumbled into the place she thought she'd never go again.

"So I see the potion worked! Well, let me get your two's money. . ."

"Not so fast, Dr. Mendheim!" exclaimed Taelia. Rebekkana was shocked, "You know this person...creature... thing?" Taelia quickly explained, " He's tried to do something like this before, and I thought I had gotten rid of him. Evidently, I did not. Now Dr., how can we cure these two?"

The scientist grinned, "Well I _do_ have some curing potion, but it will cost them. My price is about, let's say, . . . 100,000 a bottle."

"That's our entire wages!"

"Yes! So either gather your money and do what you like, or give me the money and be your self again! Your choice." Rebekkana thought hard. Maedanon truly needed that potion, that was obvious. But she contemplated her own situation. In her mind, it came down to trading one handicap for another. Either she was deformed and could never be normal looking, or she would be bound to cold environment til her mother raised another 100,000 neopoints. She didn't know what she thought but she knew her mother would want her to do. _If disobeying my mother got me into this, maybe obeying her will get me out._ "Give me two bottles of that stuff," said Rebekkana forcefully as she handed over both neopets wages.

When they received the bottles of orange liquid, Rebekkana slurped down hers. It tasted gross and burned her throat, but she got better almost immediately. As she held the other vial up to Maedanon's beak, the scientist spoke up. "Just a little warning for you, the potion will reverse any painting. Maedanon will reverse from a starry Lenny to her original colors." Rebekkana gulped. This could result in Maedanon wanting to kill her for taking away her color. Even so, she poured the liquid down the Lenny's throat.

Maedanon sputtered as she woke from her unconsciousness. Her starry coat slowly faded to blue, and she streched her wings and legs to make herself normal again. "What . . . what happened?"

Rebekkana and Taelia explained all that had happened since she had been conscious last. "You mean, not only am I not going to get my 100,000 neopoints but I lost my color!" exclaimed Maedanon, obviously not grateful, "My mom's going to **kill** me!"

"Maedanon, you're going to **live**. Isn't that better than a dead Lenny who _just happens_ to have 100,00 neopoints and a fancy hue?"

"I don't know. . ."

Taelia led her two young friends to their respective homes. Maedanon's mother certainly didn't seem happy, but they did not stay long enough to see anything bad happen. Finally, they got to Rebekkana's family's neohotel room. Her mother greeted her at the door, tears and worry in her eyes. After a long embrace, the mother pushed the child away slightly so she could look into her eyes. "Where have you been for 28 hours?"

Taelia and Rebekkana yet again told the story, this time starting at the first day of this odyssey, the night Antarala told Rebekkana of the job. At this point, her mother shot Antarala an disapproving look. "Oh honey, if I had known you'd do something so drastic I would have just used the lab ray money for individual paint brushes! You know what! I'm going to do just that! When we go back to our home, I'm getting each of you a paint brush!"

Taelia smiled, "Well, I'm going to head home. . ." Rebekkana ran forward and hugged the faerie."Thank you sooooo much!"

"No problem kiddo."

As Taelia left, the neopets excitedly contemplated what paint brush they wanted. They knew that they had to keep the wishes low, they did not have **_that_** much money. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. As Lihimal opened the door, she saw Maedanon standing there, a single suitcase in hand. "Bekky, I think it's for you!"

"Maedanon, what are you doing _here_?" Maedanon frowned. "My mom kicked me and my sister out." She moved her suitcase to reveal a blue Moehog. "Her name's Spinette, she's younger than me. Mom was so upset about me losing the money and my color she..." she lower her voice so her sister couldn't hear, "...self froze her account."

"Oh no! Where are you two going to live?"

"That's why we came here. I know you can't keep us, you've already got three sisters, but could we come with you back to Neopia Central. At least there we can go to the pound." Spinette shivered, and Rebekkana realized that they still were standing in the snow. "Why don't you two come in and I'll ask my mom. I'm sure we can take you to Neopia Central."

The End


	6. Epilogue

_Authors Note: Currently only Ionabel and Lihimal are **actually **painted but the colors in this story are the colors I plan on painting them._

Ionabel laid out a checkered tablecloth out on the ground. Lihimal feigned shock. "Which is Ionabel and which is the table cloth?!?!" Ionabel smiled at the joke at her new checkered appearance. "What ever, Little Miss Month of Celebrating!"

"Christmas is better than checkered!"

"You're too immature to understand the class of checkered color."

"I think you both are forgetting the best color of them all," said Antarala as she carried a picnic basket to the garden where they argued, "Purple rocks!" She paraded her purple coat in front of her siblings. "You all are so childish. We all know brown is the best!" said the newly brown toned Rebekkana before getting playfully shoved by her sisters. "Guys," said their mother, "They're here..."

All four sisters ran to the front of their house to greet Maedanon and her family.

Rebekkana's mother had not only let Maedanon and Spinette come to Neopia Central with them, she had convinced her friend Lettucey to adopt them. Now Maedanon and Spinette lived with Lettucey and her Gelert son Jireii.

The mothers greeted each other.

"Lettucey!"

"Shoveitgirl!"

They chatted as the neopets ran out to the back yard. They set out the food for the picnic they had planned. Each person got a glass of orange juice and two slices of pizza of their choice. They gave the pizza out by the list they had:

Ionabel: Yam-Lime Pizza

Lihimal: Roast Chestnut Pizza Slice

Antarala: Peppermint Pizza

Rebekkana: Snow Pizza

Maedanon: Chyrsaberry Pizza

Jireii : Split Pizza

Spinette: Ergy Pizza

Lettucey: Nice Iced Pizza

Shoveitgirl: Broccoli and Cheese Pizza

Also, everyone would get a slice of one of two Tigersquash Swirly Cakes. The adults finally caught up with the neopets, they sat down around the tablecloth. Shoveitgirl raised her glass and said, "To new colors and to new families!"

"Here, here!"


End file.
